Weatherproofing of walls



Dec. 29, 1936. H. s. SMITH WEATHERPROOFING OF WALLS Filed Jan. 25, 1935 INVENTQR. .6 [Var/y 5. 5m: 1%.

Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE V wna'rnnnrif ifirz 0F WALLS I Han-y s. Smith, Mineola, N. Y.

Application January 25, 1935, Serial No. 3,387

7 Claims.

This invention relates to weatherprooflng of walls, and more particularly relates to the weatherproofing of walls constructed of brick, or other block material.

Heretofore many expedients have been employed to prevent dampness and moisture from penetrating to the inside face of a brickwall and to a finish applied thereto. Oneexpedient has been to construct the wall to a greater depth than is required for structural soundness. Other expedients have included the application of plastic weatherproofing material, lathing and furringv on the interior face of the wall. All these expedients have required additional material, labor and time, and accordingly have increased the cost of the construction.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide weatherproofing for walls, and particularly for walls constructed of brick or other block material, which effectively prevents moisture and dampness from penetrating to the inner face of the wall from the exterior thereof, and thereby eliminates the necessity of increasing the width of the wall for this purpose, and eliminates the'necessity of applying damp-proofing material, furring, and the like to the inner face of the wall for damp-proofing purposes.

Another objector this invention is to providein a wall constructed of brick or other block mate-, rial a continuous vented membrane weatherproof ing which consists of inexpensive materials, is inexpensive to incorporate in the wall, and which does not weaken or detract from the structural strength or construction of the wall, and which permits the bricks or other block material to be laid in the customary manner.

A further object of this invention is to provide simple and inexpensive vent members for the continuous vented membrane weatherproofing, and vent members which may be inserted inexpensively and conveniently without requiring special chipping or cutting of the bricks or other block material.

Other objects of this invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In order that a clearer understanding of this invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application and illustrating certain possible embodiments of this invention and in which: g

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a section of a wall provided with weatherprooflng embodying this invention;

-\ Fig. 2 is a front view thereof Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view thereof and is taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2: and

Fig. 4 is a viewslmilar to Fig. 3 but showing anarrower wall.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the draw- Referring to the drawing, the wall has a suitable foundation l and the bricks of the wall are laid in the usual manner, including header bricks 9 laid in header courses at the usual intervals, and other bricks 2 laid in the usual way. The weatherprooflng comprises suitable damp-proof and waterproof material 6, which may be suitable fabric impregnated with asphalt or wax sumcient to render the fabric impervious to water and dampness or may be good quality rubberoid or tar paper, which extends the length of the wall and from a level of the foundation or other drainage level to the top of the wall in a continuous fashion. As shown, this material may comprise a plurality of strips, one above'the other. The top strip extends from the top of the wall behind the front header course, then under this header course to the rear of the outer face bricks and downwardly behind these face bricks to the next thence extends rearwardly across the top of this header, then downwardly behind the header, then forwardly under the header to the rear of the outer course of bricks below this header, then downwardly behind these bricks to the top of the lowest header course and outwardly along the top of this header course to the outer face or facade of the wall. Another strip of damp-proof material overlaps the rear of this damp-proofing material above the header course and extends rearwardly along the header course and then downwardly behind this header course to the foundation or other drainage level. Thus it will be seen that the waterproofing material is coextensive with the height and length of the wall and there is no opening or break in the material through which water or other moisture can penetrate. The overlapping of the sheets 6 are indiof the wall through duct members I inserted in the horizontal joints I0 immediately above each, header course and spaced suitable distances apart, such as six to eight feet. The spaces intermediate the face and header bricks and the moistureprooflng material 6 are further vented to the exterior of the wall by apertures I l formed through the vertical mortar joints at suitable places and preferably meeting the spaces in the vicinity of the under side of the header courses, and being inclined downwardly to the facade of the wall sufllciently to prevent rain from passing rearwardly therethrough. The duct members I and the vent apertures II are preferably in vertical alignment.

The vent members I may be of suitable material, such as galvanized iron, copper, or the like, and of inverted channel form, preferably wider at the rear where they open into the spaces in front of the damp-proofing material 6 than at the facade of the wall where they open into the atmosphere. For instance, these vent members may be three-eighths of an inch in height, one inch wide at the front" and three inches wide .at the rear. The-drain channels of these members should beclear of mortar droppings.

The inclined vent apertures Ii may be formed conveniently by inserting a removable core, such as a nail or spike of appropriate diameter, in the In a wall having a thickness of only two courses, I

as shown in Fig. 4, if it is desired to have the inside face thereof even and straight, for plaster ing or for other reasons, the rear ends of the header bricks 9 may be chipped slightly, as at l2, the damp-proofing material 6 placed thereagainst, and mortar applied, as at l3, to come flush with the face of the walla I I By reason of the effectiveness of the weatherprooflng, it is unnecessary for the prevention of objectionable percolation or transmission of moisture through the wall, to construct the wall of any greater thickness than is necessary for structural strength. I

Thus it will be apparent that any moisture reaching the spaces in front of the moisture-proof membrane 6 will not only be prevented from contacting any part of the construction in the rear thereof, but also, on suflicient accumulation, will drain down and through the vent members I and will be discharged. on the outer face of the wall, and in addition, due tothe vent channels of members] and the vent apertures ll air will circulate throughjthe spaces and not only dry' any moisture there may be therein but will also dry the facade bricks from the rear, including the rear half of the under surfaces of the header bricks. This tends to prevent efiiorescence forming on the bricks, and quickens the drying out of the wall. Preferably the waterproof membrane is disposed behind the facade bricks so as to arrest penetration of moisture as near as possible to its point of ingress.

The header courses have the front half of the under surface and the rear half of the upper surface tied into the wall by mortar.

As many changes could be made in the abov construction, and as many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

1. In a wall comprising a plurality ofyertical courses of bricks, including header bricks, of a continuous moisture-proof membrane disposed and extending horizontally and vertically intermediate two of said courses and embracing the rear portion of the upper surface, the rear face and the rear portion of the lower surface of the header bricks, said membrane being separated by a clear space from the adjacent course which is toward the exterior of the wall and from the rear and under surface of the header bricks, drain ducts of inverted channel shape disposed on the forward portion of the header bricks and entirely forward of said membrane and having their channels extending from said space to the exterior of the wall, and air vents in said wall open at the exterior thereof and extending to said space.

2. In a wall comprising a plurality of vertical courses of bricks, including header bricks, of a continuous moisture-proof membrane disposed and extending horizontally and vertically intermediate two of said courses and embracing the rear portion of the upper surface, the rear face and the rear portion of the lower surface of the header bricks, said membrane being separated by a clear space from the adjacent course which is toward the exterior of the wall and from the rear and under surface of the header bricks, drain ducts of inverted channel shape disposed on the forward portion of the header bricks and entirely forward of said membrane and having their channels extending from said space to the exterior of the wall, and air vents in said wall open at the exterior thereof and extending to said space, a course of mortar intermediate the front portion of the lower surface of the header bricks and adjacent bricks of a course tying the header bricks into said course, and a course of mortar between the membrane portion disposed on the rear portion of the upper surface of the header bricks and adjacent bricks of another course tying said courses together.

3. In a wall comprising aplurality of vertical courses of bricks, including two interlapping horizontal courses of header bricks, of a moistureproof membrane disposed intermediate two vertical courses and extending continuously horizontally and vertically between said courses and having its lower edge portion lying on the front portion of a horizontal header course and extending to the exterior of the wall, said membrane above said edge portion being separated by a clear space from the vertical course which is toward the exterior of the wall.

4. In a wall comprising a plurality of vertical courses of bricks, including two interlapping horizontal courses of header bricks, of a moistureproof membrane disposed intermediate two vertical courses and extending continuously horizontally and vertically between said courses and having its lower edge portion lying on the front portion of a horizontal header course and extending to the exterior of the wall, said membrane above said edge portion being separated by a clear space from the vertical course which is toward the exterior of the wall, drain ducts of inverted channel shape disposed on said lower edge portion of the membrane and extending from said space to the exterior of the wall, and air vents in said wall open on the exterior thereof and opening into the upper region of said space.

5. In a wall comprising a plurality of vertical courses of-bricks, including two interlapping horizontal courses of header bricks, of a moistureproof membrane having its upper edge portion embracing a rear portion of the upper surface, the rear face, and a rear portion of the lower surface of one of said header courses and having its lower edge portion lying on the front portion of the upper surface of the next lower header course and extending to the front face thereof, and .the intermediate portion of said membrane being disposed and extending continuously horizontally and vertically between two vertical courses, said membrane being separated by a clear space from the rear face and under surface of the upper header course and from the vertical course which is toward the exterior of the wall, means, in-

cluding ducts of inverted channel shape disposedv on said lower edge portion of the membrane, for draining said space, and means, including air vents in said wall, for ventilating said space.

6. In a wall comprising a plurality of vertical courses of bricks, including two interlapping horizontal courses of header bricks, of a moistureproof membrane having its upper edge portion embracing a rear portion of the upper surf-ace, the rear face, and a rear portion of the lower surface of one of said header courses and having its lower edge portion lying on the front portion of the upper surface of the next lower header course and extending to the front face thereof, and the intermediate portion of said membrane being disposed and extending continuously horizontally and vertically between two vertical courses, said membrane being separated by a clear space from the rear face and under surface of the upper header course and from the vertical course which is toward the exterior of the wall, means, including ducts of inverted channel shape disposed on said lower edge portion of the mem-- brane, for draining said space, and means, including air vents in said wall, for ventilating said space, a course of mortar engaging the front portion of the lower surface of one of said horizontal header courses and engaging an outwardly disposed vertical course, and a course of mortar engaging the portion of said membrane on the rear portion of the upper surface thereof and engaging the nextinward vertical course, whereby said header course is tied into both said vertical courses and said vertical courses are tied to- 'gether.

7. In a wall of the character described, two adjacent vertical courses of bricks including horizontal overlapping, header courses tying said courses together, a continuous moisture-proof membrane disposed and extending horizontally and vertically between said courses and between the overlapping header courses, the forward vertical course and the forward header bricks being spaced forwardly of said membrane, providing a free air and drain space covering the entire rear surfaces of said vertical course and header bricks, and drain ducts disposed on the forward portions of the forward header bricks, entirely forward of said membrane to drain moisture from said space to the exterior of the wall.

HARRY S. SMITH. 

